City Council
Meeting: June 23, 2009
Agenda Item: 1-B
To: Mayor and
City Council
From: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
Subject: Awarding Bid to
Recommended
Action
Staff recommends that the City Council award a bid to the Santa Monica Daily Press to publish the City’s
legal notices for fiscal year 2009-10, pursuant to the requirements of Section
609 of the City Charter.
Executive
Summary
State and local law require that legal notices, primarily relating to
public bidding and land use matters, be published in a newspaper of general
circulation. Santa Monica City Charter
Section 609 sets forth the procedures for annual selection of an official
newspaper for publication of legal notices.
In accordance with Charter Section 609, the City published a notice
inviting bids to publish the City’s legal notices during FY 09/10 and selected
the Santa Monica Daily Press. Funds will be available in General Fund Account No. 01211.522520, Records &
Election Services.
Background
The Santa Monica Municipal Code and State
law require that legal notices, primarily items relating to public bidding and
land use matters, be published in a newspaper of general circulation published
in the City (SMMC Sec. 9.04.20.22.050) or, if there is none, in a paper of
general circulation published nearest to the City (Government Code Sec.
6042). Under State law, a paper
qualifies for adjudication by either 1) being printed in the City for one year
or 2) being published in the City for three years and having a principal office
of publication in the City.
Staff published a notice
inviting bids and selected an official newspaper based on the following
criteria:
The notice seeking bids was sent
to a list of local publications on May 18, 2009; and published in the Santa Monica Daily Press, the City’s
current newspaper of record, three times between May 18 and May 26, 2009, with
bids due May 29, 2009. The City received
three bids for legal advertising services from the Santa Monica Daily Press, the Santa
Monica Mirror and the Santa Monica
Observer.
Discussion
The Santa Monica Daily Press is being recommended for selection based
on the criteria outlined in the notice inviting bids. A summary of the selected vendor’s proposal appears
below:
|
Publication |
Rate |
Circulation |
Delivery Methods |
Publication Schedule |
% of Local News |
|
Daily Press |
$12.75/col.
inch (no min.) |
19,000
daily print audited & 3,000 online |
750
box, rack and drop locations; online & paid subscriptions |
6
issues weekly, Mon – Fri and weekend edition |
75% |
Staff is recommending the Santa Monica Daily Press for selection
because it meets or exceeds all of the criteria outlined in the request for
bids. The Daily Press, an adjudicated
newspaper of general circulation since 2005, has a
daily audited circulation of 19,000 (114,000 weekly). The Daily
Press publishes six papers each week, offering the City excellent exposure
and flexibility in its legal advertising.
On average, the Daily Press publishes
over 50 original local news stories per week and devotes a minimum of 75% of
the newspaper to local news, opinion and other commentary. In addition, the Daily Press has a good reputation as a paper of record in the City
of
While the City Charter requires
the selection of a single adjudicated newspaper for the purpose of publishing
legal notices, it should be noted that display advertising to inform residents
of City programs and services can and will continue to be placed in other local
newspapers, both print and on-line, within approved budget allocations. Also, certain legal noticing, particularly
Purchasing Officer bid notices that require dissemination beyond Santa Monica’s
borders, will continue to be published in the Los Angeles Times or other regional papers in addition to the Santa Monica Daily Press.
Finance/Budget Impact
The City spent has spent $56,904
through May of FY 08/09 to publish legal notices in the Santa Monica Daily Press (4,463.06 column inches). Based on the probable purchase of a similar
number of column inches – between 4,500 and 5,000 – the City can expect to
spend approximately $57,375 – $63,750 in FY 09/10. Legal advertising is budgeted in General Fund
Account No. 01211.522520, Records & Election Services.
Prepared by:
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Approved: |
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Forwarded to
Council: |
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Marsha Jones Moutrie City Attorney |
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P. City Manager |